Methods and systems for network slicing

ABSTRACT

An aspect of the disclosure provides a method of network slice management performed by a Communication Service Management Function (CSMF). The method includes receiving service requirements and receiving capability exposure information. The method further includes transmitting network slice requirements in accordance with the service requirements and capability exposure information. In some embodiments the capability exposure information is received from a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF). In some embodiments the network slice requirements are transmitted to the NSMF. Other aspects are directed to methods implemented by an NSMF and a Network Sub-Slice Management Function (NSSMF). Other aspects are directed to the network functions themselves.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/528,824 entitled“Methods and Systems for Network Slicing” filed Jul. 5, 2017 thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally pertains to the field of CommunicationsNetworks, and particular embodiments or aspects relate to CommunicationsNetworks which utilize network slicing.

BACKGROUND

Communications networks utilize network slicing to provide logicalnetworks with different and flexible requirements and also highefficiency. Users and service providers create a Service Level Agreement(SLA) to specify the network performance required to meet the userrequirements of the user's traffic. Network slices are created byconnecting network resources, which meet the network performancespecified in the SLA, and provide users with end-2-end communicationpaths. As the user's requirements change, the network resources includedin a slice also change so that the network slice's performance meets theuser's requirements. This method is efficient as it ensures that onlynetwork resources that meet the user's requirements are included in thenetwork slice used by the user. It should be appreciated that as auser's requirements change, any network resources that exceed theperformance required can be reallocated to other network slices and anyresources that have less performance than the performance required canbe replaced by higher performance resources.

Accordingly, there may be a need for a system and method for responsivenetwork slicing that is not subject to one or more limitations of theprior art.

This background information is intended to provide information that maybe of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission isnecessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the precedinginformation constitutes prior art against the present invention.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at leastone disadvantage of the prior art.

An aspect of the disclosure provides a method of network slicemanagement performed by a Communication Service Management Function(CSMF). The method includes receiving service requirements and receivingcapability exposure information. The method further includestransmitting network slice requirements in accordance with the servicerequirements and capability exposure information. In some embodimentsthe capability exposure information is received from a Network SliceManagement Function (NSMF). In some embodiments the network slicerequirements are transmitted to the NSMF. In some embodiments thecapability exposure information includes any one of the following:request based information; network slice type information; network slicetemplate (NST) information; NST plus capacity information; and allrelevant information. In some embodiments the service requirements arereceived from a Communication Service Negotiation Function (CSNF). Insome embodiments the network slice requirements includes any one of thefollowing: parameters; network slice type plus parameters; network slicetemplate plus parameters; network slice template plus parameters pluscapacity; and network slice template plus parameters plus capacity plusother relevant information.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of network slicemanagement performed by a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF). Sucha method includes receiving network slice requirements and receivingsub-slice capability exposure information. The method further includestransmitting network sub-slice requirements in accordance with thenetwork slice requirements and capability exposure information. In someembodiments the sub-slice capability exposure information is receivedfrom a Network Sub-Slice Management Function (NSSMF). In someembodiments the sub-slice capability exposure information is receivedfrom a network element manager. In some embodiments the sub-slicecapability exposure information is received from a plurality of networkelement managers. In some embodiments the sub-slice capability exposureinformation is received from a MANO. In some embodiments the networksub-slice requirements are transmitted to the NSSMF. In some embodimentsthe sub-slice capability exposure information includes one of thefollowing: request based information; network sub-slice typeinformation; network sub-slice template (NSST) information; NSST andcapacity information; and all relevant information. In some embodimentsthe network slice requirements are received from a Communication ServiceManagement Function (CSMF). In some embodiments the method furtherincludes transmitting slice capability exposure information to the CSMF.In some embodiments the slice capability exposure information comprisesone of the following: request based information; network slice typeinformation; network slice template (NST) information; NST and capacityinformation; and all relevant information.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of network slicemanagement performed by a Network Sub-Slice Management Function (NSSMF).Such a method includes receiving network sub-slice requirements andreceiving sub-slice capability exposure information. The method furtherincludes transmitting aggregated sub-slice capability exposureinformation. In some embodiments the sub-slice capability exposureinformation is received from a network element manager. In someembodiments the sub-slice capability exposure information is receivedfrom a plurality of network element managers. In some embodiments thesub-slice capability exposure information is received from a MANO. Insome embodiments the network sub-slice requirements are received from aNetwork Slice Management Function (NSMF). In some embodiments theaggregated sub-slice capability exposure information is transmitted tothe NSMF. In some embodiments the aggregated sub-slice capabilityexposure information comprises one of the following: request basedinformation; network sub-slice type information; network sub-slicetemplate (NSST) information; NSST and capacity information; and allrelevant information.

Other aspects of the disclosure provide for network elements configuredto perform the methods described herein. For example, network elementscan be configured as a (B)SM, CSNF, CSMF, NSMF or NSSMF. For examplenetwork elements can include a processor, and machine readable memorystoring machine readable instructions which when executed by theprocessor, cause the network element to perform the methods describedherein.

For example, other aspects provide a network function including: anetwork interface for receiving data from and transmitting data tonetwork functions connected to a network; a processor; and anon-transient memory for storing instructions that when executed by theprocessor cause the network function to be configured to perform themethods described herein.

Embodiments have been described above in conjunctions with aspects ofthe present invention upon which they can be implemented. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that embodiments may be implemented inconjunction with the aspect with which they are described, but may alsobe implemented with other embodiments of that aspect. When embodimentsare mutually exclusive, or are otherwise incompatible with each other,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Some embodiments may bedescribed in relation to one aspect, but may also be applicable to otheraspects, as will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

Some aspects and embodiments of the present invention may provideimproved network slicing, effective communication service provisioning,flexible network requirements, and an increase in network efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 52 within a computingand communications environment 50 that may be used for implementingdevices and methods in accordance with representative embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a Network Slice Instance 30 inrelation to a Service Instance (Communication service bundle) 20, and aBusiness Service 10 for an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a Network Slice Instance 30instantiated within Service Instance 40 for an embodiment. FIG. 3 alsoshows Network Slice Instance 30's connectivity to ED 52, which can be aUE, and App Server 200.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment where Network SliceInstance 30, supporting OP domain that are non-3GPP compliant,instantiated within Service Instance 40 for an embodiment. FIG. 4 alsoshows the Network Slice Instance 30's connectivity to an ED 52, whichcan be a UE, and App Server 200. When the network slice embodiment shownin FIG. 4 is created, the topology is supplied and the resources areallocated based on their function.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating Network Slice Instance 30instantiated within Service Instance 40 for an embodiment. The blockdiagram shown in FIG. 5 also illustrates the use of connectivityresources to connect network functions, UE 52, and App Server 200. Whenthe network slice embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is created, the topology issupplied, the capacity of the connections is specified, and theresources are allocated based on their function.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the instantiation andconnectivity of Network Slice Instance 1 31, Network Slice Instance 232, ED 52, which can be a UE, and Servers 200 within Service Instance 41for an embodiment.

FIG. 7 block diagrams illustrate three different embodiments of serviceinstances and Network Slice Instances. The three block diagrams in FIG.7 illustrate embodiments where multiple service instances (SIs) canshare one network slice instance. In this embodiment, SI 1 shares NSIwith SI 2. It is also shown in the embodiment that part of the resourcesin NSI is utilized by SI 1 and part utilized by SI 2. FIG. 7Aillustrates a first embodiment showing a single instance. FIG. 7Billustrates a second embodiment showing multiple instances. FIG. 7Cillustrates another embodiment in which a single instance of App Server200 is served by a plurality of Network Slice Instances.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating two service instances (ServiceInstance 1 46 and Service Instance 2 47) both sharing Network SliceInstance 1 37 for an embodiment. FIG. 8's block diagram also illustratesNetwork Resource 1 401 and Network Resource 2 400 allocated withinNetwork Slice Instance 1 37. FIG. 8's block diagram further illustratesthe connectivity between the UEs 52 and servers 200 associated withService Instance 1 46 and Service Instance 2 47 and the shared NetworkSlice Instance 1 37.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment where the NetworkSlice Instance 39's RAN NF 84 is located close to the App Server 200.FIG. 9 also shows an embodiment where App Server 225 is located near CNNF 114. FIG. 9 also shows an embodiment where App Server 226 is locatedclose to CN NF 114 and DN 88.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating many different embodiments ofNetwork Slice Subnet Instances (NSSI) that can be used to create aNetwork Slice Instance (NSI).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment for a networkslice management architecture for a single administrative domain.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network slicemanagement architecture where the unused resources of slices is includedin another slice.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network slicemanagement architecture that is specifically designed to manage slices.

FIG. 14A is a block diagram illustrating the service and networkrequirements of an embodiment that implements one or more Network SliceTemplate (NST) and one or more Network Slice Subnet Template (NSST).

FIG. 14B is a block diagram illustrating the service and networkrequirements of an embodiment that implements a plurality of NetworkSlice Management Functions (NSMF), one or more Network Slice Template(NST) and one or more Network Slice Subnet Template (NSST).

FIG. 15 is a block diagram that illustrates the Business Support System(BSS) and the Operating Support System (OSS) functions needed by serviceproviders to provide network slices to their customers.

FIG. 16A is a block diagram illustrating a service-based view of asystem architecture of a 5G Core Network;

FIG. 16B is a block diagram illustrating the system architecture of a 5GCore Network as shown in FIG. 16A from the perspective of referencepoint connectivity;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of a 5G RadioAccess Network architecture;

FIG. 18A is a block diagram schematically illustrating an architecturein which network slicing can be implemented;

FIG. 18B is a block diagram illustrating the architecture discussed inFIG. 18-A from the perspective of a single slice;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a cloud-based implementation of a CoreNetwork and Radio Access Network using virtualized functions;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a logical platform under whichan Electronic Device can provide virtualization services;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an ETSI NFV MANO compliantmanagement and orchestration service;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of interactions betweenthe Management Plane, Control Plane and User Plane of a network;

FIG. 23 is a call flow diagram according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general methods and systems according to embodiments are disclosedwhich provides for lower levels of functions providing exposure ofcapabilities to higher level functions. It is noted thatexposed/exposure of capabilities in this specification refers toproviding capability exposure information. Based on these exposures,higher level functions send service or slice requirements to the lowerlevel functions. In general, the more information which is providedupwards, the more specificity can be specified in the service or slicerequirements. This can allow for faster set up times, as the higherlevel functions can determine which functions can satisfy the service orslice requirements. However, security considerations can provide reasonsfor operators to limit the amount of information which is provided. Forexample, if little or no information is provided, then the higher levelfunctions cannot determine which lower functions can satisfy a request.This can lead to multiple requests or iterations of requests being sentto multiple functional entities to determine which functional entitiesare able to configure slices to satisfy the service or slicerequirements.

Some terminology will now be discussed. In some embodiments a networkslice is a logical network that provides specific network capabilitiesand network characteristics. In some embodiments a network slice is acomplete logical network that provides specific network capabilities andnetwork characteristics and serves a certain business purpose. In someembodiments a Network Slice Instance is a set of Network Functioninstances and the required resources (e.g. compute, storage andnetworking resources) which form a deployed Network Slice. In someembodiments a Network Slice Instance is a set of network functions andthe resources for these network functions which are arranged andconfigured, forming a complete logical network to meet certain networkcharacteristics and serve certain business purpose. In some embodimentsa Network Slice Instance is a set of network functions, and resources torun these network functions, forming a complete instantiated logicalnetwork to meet certain network characteristics required by the ServiceInstance(s).

In some embodiments a Network slice subnet instance is a set of networkfunctions and the resources for these network functions which arearranged and configured to support the formation of a network sliceinstance. In some embodiments a Network slice subnet instance is a setof network functions and the resources for these network functions whichare arranged and configured to be used as a constituent of one or morenetwork slice instances. It is noted that subnet and subslice are usedinterchangeably herein. In some embodiments a Service Instance is aninstance of an end-user service or a business service that is realizedwithin or by a network slice. In some embodiments a service Instance isan instance of an end-user service or a business service consisting of acertain set of communication services that are realized within or by anetwork slice. In some embodiments Service Instance is an instance of anend-user service or a business service that is realized within or by anetwork slice.

Examples of when a Network Service Instance (NSI) is complete will bediscussed, according to embodiments:

-   1) Completeness of an NSI

A NSI is complete in the sense that it includes all functionalities andresources necessary to support certain set of communication servicesthus serving certain business purpose.

-   2) Components of an NSI

The NSI contains network functions (NFs) (e.g. belonging to access node(AN) and core network (CN).

If the NFs are interconnected, the 3GPP management system contains theinformation relevant to connections between these NFs such as topologyof connections, individual link requirements (e.g. quality of service(QOS) attributes), etc.

For the part of the Transport Network (TN) supporting connectivitybetween the NFs, the 3GPP management system provides link requirements(e.g. topology, QoS attributes) to the management system that handlesthe part of the TN supporting connectivity between the NFs.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device (ED) 52 illustratedwithin a computing and communications environment 50 that may be usedfor implementing the devices and methods disclosed herein. In someembodiments, the ED 52 may be an element of communications NetworkInstance, such as a base station (for example a NodeB, an evolved Node B(eNodeB, or eNB), a next generation NodeB (sometimes referred to as agNodeB or gNB), a home subscriber server (HSS), a gateway (GW) such as apacket gateway (PGW) or a serving gateway (SGW) or various other nodesor functions within a core network (CN) or a Public Land MobilityNetwork (PLMN). In other embodiments, the electronic device may be adevice that connects to the Network Instance over a radio interface,such as a mobile phone, smart phone or other such device that may beclassified as a User Equipment (UE). In some embodiments, ED 52 may be aMachine Type Communications (MTC) device (also referred to as amachine-to-machine (m2m) device), or another such device that may becategorized as a UE despite not providing a direct service to a user. Insome references, ED 52 may also be referred to as a mobile device, aterm intended to reflect devices that connect to mobile network,regardless of whether the device itself is designed for, or capable of,mobility. Specific devices may utilize all of the components shown oronly a subset of the components. Levels of integration may vary fromdevice to device. Furthermore, a device may contain multiple instancesof a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transmitters,receivers, etc. ED 52 typically includes a processor 54, such as aCentral Processing Unit (CPU), and may further include specializedprocessors such as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or other suchprocessor, a memory 56, a network interface 58 and a bus 60 to connectthe components of ED 52. ED 52 may optionally also include componentssuch as a mass storage device 62, a video adapter 64, and an I/Ointerface 68 (shown in dashed lines).

The memory 56 may comprise any type of non-transitory system memory,readable by the processor 54, such as static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM),read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, thememory 56 may include more than one type of memory, such as ROM for useat boot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use whileexecuting programs. The bus 60 may be one or more of any type of severalbus architectures including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, or a video bus.

ED 52 may also include one or more network interfaces 58, which mayinclude at least one of a wired network interface and a wireless networkinterface. As illustrated in FIG. 1, network interface 58 may include awired network interface to connect to a network 74, and also may includea radio access network interface 72 for connecting to other devices overa radio link. When ED 52 is an element of a communications NetworkInstance element, the radio access network interface 72 may be omittedfor nodes or functions acting as elements of the PLMN other than thoseat the radio edge (e.g. an eNB). When ED 52 is element of acommunication Network Instance and is located at the radio edge of anetwork, both wired and wireless network interfaces may be included.When ED 52 is a device that connects to the Network Instance over aradio interface wirelessly, such as a User Equipment, radio accessnetwork interface 72 may be present and it may be supplemented by otherwireless interfaces such as WiFi network interfaces. The networkinterfaces 58 allow ED 52 to communicate with remote entities such asthose connected to network 74.

The mass storage 62 may comprise any type of non-transitory storagedevice configured to store data, programs, and other information and tomake the data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus60. The mass storage 62 may comprise, for example, one or more of asolid state drive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, or an opticaldisk drive. In some embodiments, mass storage 62 may be remote to ED 52and accessible through use of a network interface such as networkinterface 58. In the illustrated embodiment, mass storage 62 is distinctfrom memory 56 where it is included, and may generally perform storagetasks compatible with higher latency, but may generally provide lesseror no volatility. In some embodiments, mass storage 62 may be integratedwith a heterogeneous memory 56.

The optional video adapter 64 and the I/O interface 68 (shown in dashedlines) provide interfaces to couple ED 52 to external input and outputdevices. Examples of input and output devices include a display 66coupled to the video adapter 64 and an I/O device 70 such as atouch-screen coupled to the I/O interface 68. Other devices may becoupled to ED 52, and additional or fewer interfaces may be utilized.For example, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (notshown) may be used to provide an interface for an external device. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that in embodiments in which ED 52 ispart of a data center, I/O interface 68 and Video Adapter 64 may bevirtualized and provided through network interface 58.

In some embodiments, ED 52 may be a standalone device, while in otherembodiments ED 52 may be resident within a data center. A data center,as will be understood in the art, is a collection of computing resources(typically in the form of servers that include compute resources (e.g.,CPUs), and storage resources (e.g., persistent storage) that can be usedas a collective computing resource. Within a data center, a plurality ofservers can be connected together to provide a computing resource poolupon which virtualized entities can be instantiated. Data centers can beinterconnected with each other to form networks consisting of poolscomputing resources connected to each by connectivity resources. Theconnectivity resources may take the form of physical connections such asEthernet or optical communications links, and in some instances mayinclude wireless communication channels as well. If two different datacenters are connected by a plurality of different communicationchannels, the links can be combined together using any of a number oftechniques including the formation of link aggregation groups (LAGs). Itshould be understood that any or all of the computing and connectivityresources (along with other resources within the network) can be dividedbetween different sub-networks, in some cases in the form of a resourceslice. If the computing resources across a number of connected datacenters or other collection of nodes are sliced, different networkslices can be created.

An end-to-end network slice facilitates business service by allocatingthe network resources in the network slice based on the userrequirements specified by the customer's Service Level Agreement (SLA).Resources are allocated based on the network slice requirements, and thenetwork slice requirements are created from the SLA's servicerequirements. FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment with a Network SliceInstance (NSI) 30, in relation to the Service Instance 20 and theBusiness Service 10 instance. The NSI 30, can include functions managedby the 3GPP management system. Functions managed by the 3GPP managementsystem are illustrated in FIG. 2 with solid lines and functions notmanaged by 3GPP management system are illustrated with dotted lines. Theradio access network (RAN) NF 84 and CN NF 114 are managed by the 3GPPmanagement system. Network Slice Instance 30 in this embodiment includesRAN NF 84 connected to Transport Network (TN) 86. TN 86 is a functionoutside of 3GPP, which includes an optical network and can be considereda user plane (UP) function, that routes traffic to a plurality of CN NFs114. The traffic then passes thorough TN 86 and into non-3GPP OP domain96 before entering Data Network (DN) 88. The slice is terminated by anApplication (App) Server 200 which is the destination of the traffic.Accordingly a service instance allows for communication between anApplication (App) executing on the UE, which can take the form of the ED52 of FIG. 1, and the App Server 200.

TN 87 is a function outside of 3GPP that routes traffic between aplurality of CN NFs 114. It should be appreciated that TN 87 can includean optical network and can also be a core network function.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment where NSI 30, withsupport from non-3GPP OP domain, is instantiated within Service Instance40. The topology of the network functions is determined when devicesattach to the NSI 30 (via RAN 84). Network resources are allocated inthis embodiment based on their function.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment where the topologyof the network functions is specified and network functions areallocated based on their function. The topologies of network functionsRAN NF 84 and CN NF 114 are defined by the 5G Operation, Administration,and Management (OAM). However the link capacity is not defined by 5GOAM.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment where the networkfunctions (NFs) are connected by connectivity resources. This embodimentshows Service Instance 40, UEs 52 connected to a plurality of RAN NFs 84via Connectivity Resources 340, 342, and 344. The plurality of RAN NFs84 are connected to a plurality of CN NFs 114 via Connectivity Resource346, 348, 350, 362, and 354. The plurality of CN NFs 114 are thenconnected to App Server 200 via Connectivity Resource 356, 358, and 360.In this embodiment, the topologies of the network functions as well asthe capacities of each link are defined by the 5G OAM. Network resourcesare also allocated based on their function in this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment where oneService Instance 41 is supported by multiple Network Slice Instances. Inthe embodiment shown, UEs, which can take the form of the EDs 52 of FIG.1, can pass traffic to both or either Network Slice Instance 1 31 orNetwork Slice Instance 2 32. This embodiment also shows Network SliceInstance 1 31 and Network Slice Instance 2 32 passing traffic to thesame App Server 200. Although FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment in whichone Service instance is supported by two Network Slice Instances, inalternative embodiments, Service Instances can include several NetworkSlice Instances to provide different levels of service or redundancy. Insome embodiments one service application (executing in a UE) can beconnected by multiple Network Slice Instances to a corresponding AppServer 200.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate several embodiments where a ServiceInstance includes a single instance of App Servers 200, a plurality ofService Instances include a plurality of instances of Servers 200, and asingle Service Instance, which is composed of a plurality of NetworkSlice Instances, also includes a single instance of App Server 200. FIG.7A illustrates a first embodiment in which a single instance of AppServer 200 is served by a single Service Instance 1 43 and a singleNetwork Slice Instance 1 33 and also a plurality of UEs 52. FIG. 7Billustrates a second embodiment in which multiple instances of AppServer 200 are served by multiple Service Instances (Service Instance 243 and Service Instance 3 44) and a single Network Slice Instance 2 34and also a plurality of UEs, which can be 52. FIG. 7C illustratesanother embodiment in which a single instance of App Server 200 isserved by a plurality of Network Slice Instances (Network Slice Instance3 35 and Network Slice Instance 4 36) as well as a single ServiceInstance 4 45 and also a plurality of UEs 52.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment where a Network Slice Instance includesnetwork resources allocated to a plurality of Service Instances. Theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 includes network resources from aplurality of Service Instances when network resources required areunavailable otherwise. In this embodiment, both Service Instance 1 46and Service Instance 2 47 share Network Slice Instance 1 37. ServiceInstance 1 46's, EDs 52 (which are UEs), and App Server 200 connect toNetwork Slice Instance 1 37 in this embodiment. Also in this embodiment,Service Instance 2 47's, EDs 52 (which are UEs) and Server 200 connectto Network Slice Instance 1 37. Network Slice Instance 1 37 in thisembodiment includes the resources allocated to Service Instance 1 46 asNetwork Resource 2 400 and the network resources allocated to ServiceInstance 2 47 as Network Resource 1 401.

FIG. 9 illustrates that the in some embodiments, an App Server 225 canbe instantiated close to the RAN NF 84. In other embodiments, the AppServer 226 can be instantiated close to the CN NF 114. In some otherembodiments, the App server 200 can be close to the DN 88. In someembodiments, the App Server 225 and App Server 226 functionality can beinstantiated within the network functions 84 and 114 respectively.

Although a single App Server 200 is illustrated in FIGS. 2-9, inalternative embodiments, App Server 200 may include a plurality ofservers.

FIG. 10 illustrates several Network Slice Subnet Instances (NSSI) whichcan be combined to form a Network Slice Instance (NSI), according to anembodiment. A NSSI is a set of network functions and network functionresources that can be combined and managed by the Network Sub-SliceManagement Function (NSSMF). The network functions can be grouped basedon their administrative domains, set of network functions that serve aspecific purpose, that belong to a certain technology group, are locatedin a certain geographic area, or by vendor. The NSSI include RAN networkfunctions including the RAN NSS Geo—A 112A, RAN NSSI Operator X 112B,RAN NSSI Operator Y 112C, and RAN NSSI Geo B 112D—all of which includenext generation node B (gNB) 116A. The NSSI also can include CN sharedCP NSSI 510 (which instantiates NF 500 and 501), Other CN CP NSSI 511(which instantiates NF 502 and 503), CN UP NSSI 512 (which instantiatesNF 504 and 505), CN NSSI 513 (which instantiates NF 506 and 507), andany set of NFs 514 (which instantiates NF 508 and 509).

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a network slice managementarchitecture used by a single administrative domain. This embodiment ofthe network slice management architecture includes a 5G Business SupportService (BSS) 250B comprised of a Communication Service Network Function(CSNF) 550, a 5G Operations Support System (OSS) 250A that requires theinstantiation of a Communication Service Management Function (CSMF) 551and also an Operations Service Support Function (OSSF) 553. Thisembodiment of the network slice management architecture also includes a5G Network Management System (NMS) 573 that implements a Network SliceManagement Function (NSMF) 554 which allows a service provider to managethe lifecycle and capacity of a network slice. The NSMF 554 isimplemented with a high-level of abstraction based on network functionname (NF ID), capability, and topology. The 5G NMS 573 also instantiatesa Network Sub-Slice Management Function (NSSMF) 555 that resides at thesame hierarchical level as the Element Manager (EM)/DM to which it isconnected (EM 254). The NSMF 554 manages the network function using theNSSMF 555. This embodiment of the network slice management architecturealso includes an instantiation of a Network Slice Instance 559 whichinstantiated a Network Slice Subnet Instance 565 (which instantiatedPhysical Network Function (PNF) 557 and Virtual Network Function (VNF)257). This embodiment of the network slice management architecture alsoincludes a Management and Network Orchestrator (MANO) 232 whichinstantiated a Network Function Virtual Orchestrator (NFVO) 234, VirtualNetwork Functional Manager (VNFM) 246 and Virtual Instance Manager (VIM)248. Lastly, the embodiment of the network slice management architectureillustrated in FIG. 11 includes an instantiation of a Network FunctionVirtualization Instance (NFVI) 270.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the embodiment of a networkslice management architecture for multiple administrative domains. Inthis embodiment of the network slice management architecture, OperatorDomain 1 574 includes network resources from Operator domain 2 569,Operator Domain 3 570, and Operator Domain 4 571. Operator Domain 1 574is comprised of a 5G NMS 572 (which instantiates CSMF 551, NSMF 554, andNSSMF 555), OSS/BSS 566 (which instantiates CSNF 550, CSMF 551, and OSSF553), NM 567, and MANO 232 (which also instantiates NFVO 234, VNFM 246,and VIM 248). Operator domain 2 569, Operator domain 3 570, and Operatordomain 4 571 are each comprised of an OSS/BSS 566 (which instantiatesCSNF 550, CSMF 551, and OSSF 553), NM 567, 5G NMS 572 (whichinstantiates CSMF 551, NSMF 554, and NSSMF 555) and MANO 232. Operatordomain 2 is configured to allow communication service as a service.Operator domain 3 is configured to allow network slice as a service.Operator domain 4 is configured to allow network subnet slice as aservice.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a network slice managementarchitecture used to manage multiple slices. This embodiment of thenetwork slice management architecture includes CSMF 551 thatcommunicates with NSMF 554 and CSMF 552 that communicates with SliceOperation Manager (SOM) 575. A SOM is instantiated for each NSI as eachSOM manages one network slice. Similarly, the network slice managementarchitecture includes a Subnet Slice Operation Manager (SSOM) 556 in theNSSMF 555. The NSMF 554 is implemented with a high-level of abstractionbased on network function name (NF ID), capability, and topology. TheNetwork Sub-Slice Management Function (NSSMF) 555 resides at the samehierarchical level as the EM 254 to which it is connected to. The NSMF554 manages the network function using the NSSMF 555. This embodiment ofthe network slice management architecture also includes an instantiationof a Network Slice Instance 559 which instantiated a Network SliceSubnet Instance 565 (which instantiated Physical Network Function (PNF)557 and Virtual Network Function (VNF) 257). This embodiment of thenetwork slice management architecture also includes a MANO 232 whichinstantiated a Network Function Virtual Orchestrator (NFVO) 234, VirtualNetwork Functional Manager (VNFM) 246 and Virtual Instance Manager (VIM)248. In this embodiment of the network slice management architecture,the NFVO 234 can communicate with NSMF 554 and also NSSMF 555. VNFM 246can communicate with EM 254 and also directly with VNF 257. Lastly, thenetwork slice management architecture embodiment instantiated a VirtualNetwork Function Instance (VNFI) 270.

FIGS. 14-A and 14-B are logical block diagrams of a system of networkfunctions used to perform the method of network slice management,according to embodiments. FIG. 14A illustrates a Communication ServiceNetwork Function (CSNF) 550, a Communication Service Management Function(CSMF) 551, a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF) 554 and a pair ofNetwork Sub-Slice Management Functions (NSSMFs) 555, 590. It should beappreciated that the term NSSMF can also stand for Network Slice SubnetManagement Function, as the terms Slice subnet and sub-slice are usedinterchangeably herein. In some embodiments the CSMF 551 is configuredto receive service requirements, receive capability exposureinformation, and transmit network slice requirements which satisfy theservice requirements in accordance with the received capability exposureinformation. In some embodiments the NSMF 554 is configured to receivenetwork slice requirements, receive sub-slice capability exposureinformation, and transmit network sub-slice requirements which satisfythe network slice requirements in accordance with the received sub-slicecapability exposure information. In some embodiments the NSSMFs 555, 590are configured to receive network sub-slice requirements, receivesub-slice capability exposure information, and aggregated sub-slicecapability exposure information.

Accordingly FIG. 14-A illustrates a CSNF 550 which receivesbusiness/customer requirements and transmits service (instance)requirements to a CSMF 551 in accordance with the business/customerrequirements. The CSMF 551 transmits network slice (instance)requirements to a NSMF 554. The NSMF 554 transmits subnet (sliceinstance) requirements to NSSMFs 555, 590. In this embodiment, the CSNF550 supplies (e.g., transmits) service requirements on a per instancebasis to the CSMF 551. The CSMF 551 supplies (e.g., transmits) thenetwork requirements on a per slice instance basis to the NSMF 554. TheNSMF 554 supplies (e.g., transmits) the subnet requirements to NSSMF 555and the subnet requirements on a slice instance basis to a differentNSSMF 590. In other words, the NSMF 554 can transmit subnet requirementson a network slice instance basis, which can differ between differentNSSMFs. The NSSMFs 555, 590 expose different types of capabilities tothe NSMF 554 depending on their configuration. The capabilities exposedcan be classified into groups depending on the configuration of theNSSMFs 555, 590. It is noted that capabilities exposed/capabilityexposure in this specification refers to providing capability exposureinformation. The capability exposure information can be classified intofour types, namely A, B, C and D, with type A including two sub-types.Accordingly NSSMFs 555, 590 can expose Type A1 (for which little or noinformation is exposed upwards) as it is request based, A2: identifiesNSS type, B: Network Slice Subnet Template (NSST), C: NSST+capacity, D:all relevant information. It should be appreciated that each NSSMF 555,590 can aggregate capabilities from a number of element managers (EMs)to provide the capabilities for the network slice instance under controlof the NSSMF. For example resource capacity exposure information caninclude: A. Computing resources (including computation capability andNumber of cores of CPU), B. Storage resources (e.g., hard diskcapacity), C. Network bandwidth (e.g., maximum link data rate), D. RANresources (e.g, bandwidth and coverage), E. interface information, andF. resources bearing traffic. It should be appreciated that this is anon-exhaustive list of capacity.

The NSMF 554 also supplies capabilities exposure to the CSMF 551. Insome embodiments, the NSMF 554 can aggregate the exposure from NSSMFs555, 590. The NSFM 554 can also provide capabilities classified intofour groups: type A1: request based, A2: network slice type, B: NetworkSlice Template (NST), C: NST+capacity, D: all relevant information.

It should be appreciated that the CSNF 550 can provide servicerequirements to CSMF 551. These service requirements can include any orall of following (non-exhaustive list):

Service Type—KPI (per session)

Geographical area demand

Aggregate Service KPI (all devices, whole service)

Cost per the service instance

(Management) Data exposure

Management function exposure (capability given to 3^(rd) party)

Security

End user authentication method,

Physical or logical isolation requirements,

Congestion control mechanisms,

Resource specification,

Individual user charging and associated traffic monitoring method

Dynamic policy change possibilities

Network CP/UP exposure possibilities,

-   -   Traffic monitoring and controlling possibilities for customer,

Penalising methods for not meeting the SLA, etc.

Others

As stated the CSMF 551 transmits network slice requirements to the NSMF554. The network slice requirements are transmitted in accordance withthe service requirements (received from the CSNF 550) and the capabilityexposure information received from the NSMF 554. The network slicerequirements can also be classified in groups, depending on thecapability exposure type provided by the NSMF 554. In a representativeembodiment there are 4 types of such network slice requirements:

Type A1: parameters;

Type A2: network slice type plus parameters;

Type B: network slice template plus parameters;

Type C: network slice template plus parameters plus capacity; and

Type D: network slice template plus parameters plus capacity plus otherrelevant information.

It should be pointed out that the parameters can include: Service-basedNFs, Service-based NF chain, KPI (per session, probably passed fromservice requirements), Aggregate KPI, Translated information fromservice requirements including: Isolation, (Management) Data exposure,Security, and others

As stated the NSMF 554 transmits network sub-slice requirements to theNSSMFs 555, 590. The network sub-slice requirements are transmitted inaccordance with the network slice requirements (received from the CSMF551) and the capability exposure information received from the NSSMFs555, 590. The network sub-slice requirements can also be classified ingroups, depending on the capability exposure type provided by the NSSMFs555, 590. In a representative embodiment there are 4 types of suchnetwork sub-slice requirements:

Type A1: <NST+parameters+capacity> for the whole NSI

Type A2: NSS type+decomposition (NST+parameters+capacity)

Type B: NSST+decomposition (parameters+capacity)

Type C: NSST+parameters+capacity

Type D: NSST+parameters+capacity plus other relevant information

In this context, decomposition includes a higher function (e.g., theNSMF 554) determining which lower function (e.g., which NSSMFs 555, 590)can provide resources. This can be determined, for example,geographically, or based on capacity or capability, etc., FIG. 23discussed below illustrates an example call flow for a method of networkslice management performed by the system of FIG. 14A, according to anembodiment. In FIG. 23 EM 245 provides the availability of the resourcesunder its management to NSSMF 555 via signal 580. The NSSMF 555aggregates, at step 581, the availability of EM resources and providesthis capability exposure information, based on its capability exposuretype, to the NSMF 554 via signal 582. The NSMF 554 aggregates, at step583, the availability of NSSMF 555 resources, based on its capabilityexposure type, and provides this aggregated capability exposureinformation to the CSMF 551 via signal 584. The CSNF 550 providesservice instance requirements to CSMF 551 via signal 585. CSMF 551creates network slice instance requirements which satisfy the serviceinstance requirements received from CSNF 550 and aggregated NSSMFresource availability received from NSMF 554. CSMF 551 then provides thenetwork slice instance requirements to NSMF 554 via signal 586. NSMF 554decomposes, at step 587, the network slice requirements and providesthem to NSSMF 555 via signal 588. In some embodiments this procedure isused with network management functions such as slice provisioning andadmission control. NSSMF 555 provides network slice instancerequirements to EM 245 via signal 589.

The call flow illustrated by FIG. 23 is not limited to an entity, suchas a NSSMF 555, NSMF 554, CSMF 551, or CSNF 550, sending requirementsonly after receiving management capability exposure information andresource capacity exposure information. Further, there are situationswhere any of the NSSMF 555, NSMF 554, CSMF 551, or CSNF 550 may not needto send management capability exposure information or resource capacityexposure information. Also, NSSMF 555, NSMF 554, CSMF 551, or CSNF 550may send requirements before receiving management capability exposureinformation and resource capacity exposure information.

In some embodiments, the NST can include a combination of parametersselected from (a non-exhaustive list):

-   Network slice type-   Supported Network Functions, NSS type-   NF chains, NSS dependency-   Location of NFs-   Supported QoS level per session-   Security-   Isolation-   Data exposure-   Service duration-   Supported aggregate KPI-   NSST/NFD

It should be appreciated that the NSST can include similar informationon a per subnet (i.e., sub-slice) basis (e.g., including sub-slice typerather than slice type). In some embodiments, the NSST can include acombination of parameters selected from (a non-exhaustive list):

-   Network slice type-   Network slice subnet type-   Supported Network Functions, NSS type-   NF chains, NSS dependency-   Location of NFs-   Supported QoS level per session-   Security-   Isolation-   Data exposure-   Service duration-   Supported aggregate KPI-   NSST/NFD

In some embodiments the capability exposure information includesmanagement capability exposure information and resource capacityexposure information. It should be appreciated that managementcapability exposure information can include a combination of parametersselected from NF chains, NSS dependency, location of NFs, and dataexposure.

FIG. 14-B schematically illustrates a method of network slice managementaccording to an embodiment with a plurality of NSMFs. FIG. 14-Billustrates a CSNF 550, a CSMF 620, a pair of NSMFs 554, 630 and fourNSSMFs 555, 590, 640, 650. In some embodiments the CSMF 620 isconfigured to receive service requirements from CSNF 550 and to receivecapability exposure information from both NSMF 554, 630. CSMF 620transmits network slice requirements to NSMF 554 in accordance with theservice requirements received from CSNF 550 and capability exposureinformation received from NSMF 554. CSMF 620 transmits network slicerequirements to NSMF 630 in accordance with the service requirementsreceived from CSNF 550 and capability exposure information received fromand NSMF 630. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the networkslice requirements transmitted to NSMF 554 may or may not be the samenetwork slice requirements transmitted to NSMF 630 because NSMFs 554,630 expose different levels of capabilities to the CSMF 620 depending ontheir configuration. NSMF 554 transmits network slice requirements toNSSMF 555 in accordance with the service requirements received from CSMF620 and capability exposure received from NSSMF 555. NSMF 554 transmitsnetwork slice requirements to NSSMF 590 in accordance with the servicerequirements received from CSMF 620 and capability exposure informationreceived from NSSMF 590. NSMF 630 transmits network slice requirementsto NSSMF 640 in accordance with the service requirements received fromCSMF 620 and capability exposure information received from NSSMF 640.NSMF 630 transmits network slice requirements to NSSMF 650 in accordancewith the service requirements received from CSMF 620 and capabilityexposure information received from NSSMF 650. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the network slice requirements transmitted to NSSMF555 may or may not be the same network slice requirements transmitted toNSSMF 590 and that the network slice requirements transmitted to NSSMF640 may or may not be the same network slice requirements transmitted toNSSMF 650 because NSSMFs 555, 590, 640, 650 expose different levels ofcapabilities to the NSMFs 554, 630 depending on their configuration.

While FIG. 14-B illustrates an embodiment including two NSMFs and fourNSSMFs. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method ofslice management is not limited to two NSMFs nor four NSSMFs and mayinclude embodiments with a plurality of NSMFs and a plurality of NSSMFs.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of the Business Support System (BSS)and Operations Support System (OSS) functions required to be provided bya service provider to meet the QoS of the consumer's SLA. The BSS ofthis embodiment includes BSS 250B which provides customer management (inthe form of CEM, CRM, and billing), order management, productmanagement, and revenue management. The Consumer 563 communicates withthe BSS 250B. The OSS of this embodiment includes the Service ManagementLevel, the Network Management Level, and the EM level. The ServiceManagement Level includes the Business Service Management (BSM) 562which provides service negotiation support functions (SVNF), servicedefinition, delivery, charging, inventory, a service portal, activationand provisioning. The BSM 562 also prepares the service requirements forservice fulfillment. In some embodiments the CSNF 550 of FIG. 14-A canbe implemented by the BSM 562. In some embodiments the BSM 562 carriesout the functions of CSNF 550 of FIG. 14-A, effectively replacing theCSNF 550. Accordingly the terms BSM and CSNF are used interchangeablyherein. Further the BSM is sometimes referred to as simply the servicemanager (SM), hence the label (B)SM is used to indicate the “B” issometimes dropped. In some embodiments the BSS 250B carries out thefunctions of, and replaces, CSNF 550 of FIG. 14-A. The CSMF 564 is alsoa component of the Service Management Level and its function is tocommunicate service requirements for network slice requirement mapping.The Network Management Level includes the (B)SM 562, NM 573 (which is acomponent of Legacy OSS 248), NSMF 554, and NSSMF 560. These componentsconfigure, control, supervise and distribute network resources. The EMlevel includes the DM 561 (which instantiates the EM 254) and is acomponent of Legacy OSS 248. The EM level is also comprised of a DM 558and MANO 232. What is shown in FIG. 15 is only for communicationservices. For NSII/NSSI as a service, SM directly contacts NSMF/NSSMF(both use CMMF). The NSMF/NSSMF may be managed by consumer appropriatefunctions.

FIG. 16-A illustrates a service-base architecture 80 for a 5G or NextGeneration Core Network (5GCN/NGCN/NCN). This illustration depictslogical connections between nodes and functions, and its illustratedconnections should not be interpreted as direct physical connection. ED52 forms a radio access network connection with a (Radio) Access Networknode (R)AN 84, which is connected to a User Plane (UP) Function (UPF) 86such as a UP Gateway over a network interface such as an N3 interface.UPF 86 connects to a Data Network (DN) 88 over a network interface suchas an N6 interface. DN 88 may be a data network used to provide anoperator service, or it may be outside the scope of the standardizationof the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as theInternet, a network used to provide third party service, and in someembodiments DN 88 may represent an Edge Computing network or resource,such as a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) network. ED 52 also connects tothe Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 90. The AMF 90 isresponsible for authentication and authorization of access requests, aswell as Mobility management functions. The AMF 90 may perform otherroles and functions as defined by the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS)23.501. In a service based view, AMF 90 can communicate with otherfunctions through a service based interface denoted as Namf. The SessionManagement Function (SMF) 92 is a network function that is responsiblefor the allocation and management of IP addresses that are assigned to aUE as well as the selection of a UPF 86 (or a particular instance of aUPF 86) for traffic associated with a particular session of ED 52. TheSMF 92 can communicate with other functions, in a service based view,through a service based interface denoted as Nsmf. The AuthenticationServer Function (AUSF) 94, provides authentication services to othernetwork functions over a service based Nausf interface. A NetworkExposure Function (NEF) 96 can be deployed in the network to allowservers, functions and other entities such as those outside a trusteddomain to have exposure to services and capabilities within the network.In one such example, an NEF 96 can act much like a proxy between anapplication server outside the illustrated network and network functionssuch as the Policy Control Function (PCF) 100, the SMF 92 and the AMF90, so that the external application server can provide information thatmay be of used in the setup of the parameters associated with a datasession. The NEF 96 can communicate with other network functions througha service based Nnef network interface. The NEF 96 may also have aninterface to non-3GPP functions. A Network Repository Function (NRF) 98,provides network service discovery functionality. The NRF 98 may bespecific to the Public Land Mobility Network (PLMN) or network operator,with which it is associated. The service discovery functionality canallow network functions and UEs connected to the network to determinewhere and how to access existing network functions, and may present theservice based interface Nnrf. PCF 100 communicates with other networkfunctions over a service based Npcf interface, and can be used toprovide policy and rules to other network functions, including thosewithin the control plane. Enforcement and application of the policiesand rules is not necessarily the responsibility of the PCF 100, and isinstead typically the responsibility of the functions to which the PCF100 transmits the policy. In one such example the PCF 100 may transmitpolicy associated with session management to the SMF 92. This may beused to allow for a unified policy framework with which network behaviorcan be governed. A Unified Data Management Function (UDM) 102 canpresent a service based Nudm interface to communicate with other networkfunctions, and can provide data storage facilities to other networkfunctions. Unified data storage can allow for a consolidated view ofnetwork information that can be used to ensure that the most relevantinformation can be made available to different network functions from asingle resource. This can make implementation of other network functionseasier, as they do not need to determine where a particular type of datais stored in the network. The UDM 102 may be implemented as a UDM FrontEnd (UDM-FE) and a User Data Repository (UDR). The PCF 100 may beassociated with the UDM 102 because it may be involved with requestingand providing subscription policy information to the UDR, but it shouldbe understood that typically the PCF 100 and the UDM 102 are independentfunctions. The PCF may have a direct interface to the UDR. The UDM-FEreceives requests for content stored in the UDR, or requests for storageof content in the UDR, and is typically responsible for functionalitysuch as the processing of credentials, location management andsubscription management. The UDR-FE may also support any or all ofAuthentication Credential Processing, User Identification handling,Access Authorization, Registration/Mobility management, subscriptionmanagement, and Short Message Service (SMS) management. The UDR istypically responsible for storing data provided by the UDM-FE. Thestored data is typically associated with policy profile information(which may be provided by PCF 100) that governs the access rights to thestored data. In some embodiments, the UDR may store policy data, as wellas user subscription data which may include any or all of subscriptionidentifiers, security credentials, access and mobility relatedsubscription data and session related data. Application Function (AF)104 represents the non-data plane (also referred to as the non-userplane) functionality of an application deployed within a networkoperator domain and within a 3GPP compliant network. The AF 104interacts with other core network functions through a service based Nafinterface, and may access network capability exposure information, aswell as provide application information for use in decisions such astraffic routing. The AF 104 can also interact with functions such as thePCF 100 to provide application specific input into policy and policyenforcement decisions. It should be understood that in many situationsthe AF 104 does not provide network services to other NFs, and insteadis often viewed as a consumer or user of services provided by other NFs.An application outside the 3GPP network, can perform many of the samefunctions as AF 104 through the use of NEF 96.

ED 52 communicates with network functions that are in the Core NetworkUser Plane (CN UP) 106, and the Core Network Control Plane (CN CP) 108.The UPF 86 is a part of the CN UP 106 (DN 88 being outside the 5GCN).(R)AN 84 may be considered as a part of a User Plane, but because it isnot strictly a part of the CN, it is not considered to be a part of theCN UP 106. AMF 90, SMF 92, AUSF 94, NEF 96, NRF 98, PCF 100, and UDM 102are functions that reside within the CN CP 108, and are often referredto as Control Plane Functions. AF 104 may communicate with otherfunctions within CN CP 108 (either directly or indirectly through theNEF 96), but is typically not considered to be a part of the CN CP 108.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be a pluralityof UPFs connected in series between the (R)AN 84 and the DN 88, and aswill be discussed with respect to FIG. 16-B, multiple data sessions todifferent DNs can be accommodated through the use of multiple UPFs inparallel.

FIG. 16-B illustrates a reference point representation of a 5G CoreNetwork architecture 82. For the sake of clarity, some of the networkfunctions illustrated in FIG. 16-A are omitted from this figure, but itshould be understood that the omitted functions (and those notillustrated in either FIG. 16-A or FIG. 16-B) can interact with theillustrated functions.

ED 52 connects to both (R)AN 84 (in the user plane 106) and AMF 90 (inthe control plane 108). The ED-to-AMF connection is an N1 connection.(R)AN 84 also connects to the AMF 90, and does so over an N2 connection.The (R)AN 84 connects to a UPF function 86 over an N3 connection. TheUPF 86 is associated with a PDU session, and connects to the SMF 92 overan N4 interface to receive session control information. If ED 52 hasmultiple PDU sessions active, they can be supported by multipledifferent UPFs 86, each of which is connected to an SMF 92 over an N4interface. It should be understood that from the perspective ofreference point representation, multiple instances of either an SMF 92or an UPF 86 are considered as distinct entities. Each UPF 86 connectsto a different DN 88 outside the 5GCN over an N6 interface. SMF 92connects to the PCF 100 over an N7 interface, while the PCF 100 connectsto an AF 104 over an N5 interface. The AMF 90 connects to the UDM 102over an N8 interface. If two UPFs in UP 106 connect to each other, theycan do so over an N9 interface. The UDM 102 can connect to an SMF 92over an N10 interface. The AMF 90 and SMF 92 connect to each other overan N11 interface. The N12 interface connects the AUSF 94 to the AMF 90.The AUSF 94 can connect to the UDM 102 over the N13 interface. Innetworks in which there is a plurality of AMFs, they can connect to eachother over an N14 interface. The PCF 100 can connect to an AMF 90 overthe N15 interface. If there is a plurality of SMFs in the network, theycan communicate with each other over an N16 interface.

It should also be understood that any or all of the functions and nodes,discussed above with respect to the architectures 80 and 82 of the 5GCore Network, may be virtualized within a network, and the networkitself may be provided as a network slice of a larger resource pool, aswill be discussed below.

FIG. 17 illustrates a proposed architecture 110 for the implementationof a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 112, also referred toas a 5G RAN. NG-RAN 112 is the radio access network that connects an ED52 to a core network 114. In this architecture, ED 52 is a UE. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that core network 114 may be the 5GCN(as illustrated in FIG. 16-A and FIG. 16-B). In other embodiments, thecore network 114 may be a 4g Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. Nodeswith NG-RAN 112 connect to the 5G Core Network 114 over an NG interface.This NG interface can comprise both the N2 interface to a control planeand an N3 interface to a user plane as illustrated in FIG. 16-A and FIG.16-B. The N3 interface can provide a connection to a CN UPF. NG-RAN 112includes a plurality of radio access nodes which can be referred to as anext generation NodeB (gNodeB, or gNB). In the NG-RAN 112, gNB 116A andgNB 116B are able to communicate with each other over an Xn interface.Within a single gNB 116A, the functionality of the gNB may be decomposedinto a Centralized Unit (gNB-CU) 118A and a set of distributed units(gNB-DU 120A-1 and gNB-DU 120A-2, collectively referred to as 120A).gNB-CU 118A is connected to a gNB-DU 120A over an F1 interface.Similarly gNB 116B has a gNB-CU 118B connecting to a set of distributedunits gNB-DU 120B-1 and gNB-DU 120B-2. Each gNB-DU may be responsiblefor one or more cells providing radio coverage within the PLMN.

The division of responsibilities between the gNB-CU and the gNB-DU hasnot been fully defined at this time. Different functions, such as theradio resource management functionality may be placed in one of the CUand the DU. As with all functional placements, there may be advantagesand disadvantages to placement of a particular network function in oneor the other location. It should also be understood that any or all ofthe functions discussed above with respect to the NG-RAN 112 may bevirtualized within a network, and the network itself may be provided asa network slice of a larger resource pool, as will be discussed below.

FIG. 18-A illustrates an architecture 130 that connects a plurality ofcomputing resources (e.g., connectivity, compute, and storageresources), and supports network slicing. In the following, resourcesare connected to other discrete resources through Connectivity Resources134, 138, 140, 144 and 148. It will be understood that as networkfunctions are instantiated within computing resources (e.g., withinnetwork elements including connectivity, compute and storage resources),they may be connected to each other by virtual connections that in someembodiments do not rely upon the physical connectivity resourcesillustrated, but instead may be connected to each other by virtualconnections, which will also be considered as connectivity resources.Resource 1 132 is connected to Resource 2 136 by Connectivity Resource134. Resource 2 136 is connected to unillustrated resources throughConnectivity Resource 138, and is also connected to Resource 3 142 byConnectivity Resource 140. Resource 4 146 is connected to Resource 3 142through Connectivity Resource 144, and to Resource 1 132 by ConnectivityResource 148. Resource 1 132, Resource 2 136, Resource 3 142 andResource 4 146 should be understood as representing both compute andstorage resources, although specialized functions may also be included.In some embodiments a specialized network function may be represented byany or all of Resource 1 132, Resource 2 136, Resource 3 142 andResource 4 146, in which case, it may be the capability or capacity ofthe network function that is being sliced. Connectivity Resources 134,138, 140, 144 and 148 may be considered, for the following discussions,as logical links between two points (e.g. between two data centers) andmay be based on set of physical connections.

Resource 1 132 is partitioned to allocate resources to Slice A 132A, andSlice B 132B. A portion 132U of the resources available to Resource 1132 remains unallocated. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatupon allocation of the network resources to different slices, theallocated resources are isolated from each other. This isolation, bothin the compute and storage resources, ensures that processes in oneslice do not interact or interfere with the processes and functions ofthe other slices. This isolation can be extended to the connectivityresources as well. Connectivity Resource 134 is partitioned to provideconnectivity to Slice A 134A and Slice B 134B, and also retains someunallocated bandwidth 134U. It should be understood that in any resourcethat either has unallocated resources or that has been partitioned tosupport a plurality of resources, the amount of the resource (e.g. theallocated bandwidth, memory, or number of processor cycles) can bevaried or adjusted to allow changes to the capacity of each slice. Insome embodiments, slices are able to support “breathing”, which allowsthe resources allocated to the slice to increase and decrease along withany of the available resources, the required resources, an anticipatedresource need, or other such factors, alone or in combination with eachother. In some embodiments the allocation of resources may be in theform of soft slices in which a fixed allocation is not committed andinstead the amount of the resource provided may be flexible. In someembodiments, a soft allocation may allocate a percentage of the resourceto be provided over a given time window, for example 50% of thebandwidth of a connection over a time window. This may be accompanied bya minimum guaranteed allocation. Receiving a guarantee of 50% of thecapacity of a connectivity resource at all times may provide verydifferent service characteristics than receiving 50% of the capacity ofthe connectivity resource over a ten second window.

Resource 2 136 is partitioned to support allocations of the availablecompute and storage resources to Slice A 136A, Slice C 136C and Slice B136B. Because there is no allocation of resources in ConnectivityResource 134 to Slice C, Resource 2 136 may, in some embodiments, notprovide a network interface to Slice C 136C to interact withConnectivity Resource 134. Resource 2 136 can provide an interface todifferent slices to Connectivity Resource 138 in accordance with theslices supported by Connectivity Resource 138. Connectivity Resource 140is allocated to Slice A 140A and Slice C 140C with some unallocatedcapacity 140U. Connectivity Resource 140 connects Resource 2 136 withResource 3 142.

Resource 3 142 provides compute and storage resources that are allocatedexclusively to Slice C 142C, and is also connected to ConnectivityResource 144 which in addition to the unallocated portion 144U includesan allocation of Connectivity Resource 144A to slice A. It should benoted that from the perspective of functions or processes within SliceA, Resource 3 142 may not be visible. Connectivity Resource 144 providesa connection between Resource 3 142 and Resource 4 146, whose resourcesare allocated entirely to Slice A 146A. Resource 4 146 is connected toResource 1 132 by Connectivity Resource 148, which has a portion of theconnection allocated to Slice A 148A, while the balance of the resources148U are unallocated.

FIG. 18-B illustrates the view of the architecture 136 of FIG. 18-A aswould be seen from the perspective of Slice A. This may be understood asa view of the resources allocated to Slice A 150 across the illustratednetwork segment. From within Slice A 150, only the portions of theresources that have been allocated to Slice A 150 are visible. Thus,instead of being able to see the full capacity and capability ofResource 1 132, the capabilities and capacity of the portion allocatedto Slice A 132A is available. Similarly, instead of being able to seethe capacity and capabilities of Resource 2 136, only the capabilitiesand capacity of the portion allocated to Slice A 136A are available.Because nothing from Resource 3 142 had been allocated to Slice A 150,Resource 3 142 is not present within the topology of Slice A 150. All ofthe capacity and capability of Resource 4 146 was allocated to Slice A146, and as such is present within Slice A 150. Slice A 132A of Resource1 132 is connected to Slice A 136A of Resource 2 136 by logical link152. Logical Link 152 may correspond to the portion of ConnectivityResource 134 allocated to Slice A 134A. Slice A 136A is connected tological link 154 (representative of the portion of Connectivity Resource138 allocated to Slice A 150), and is connected to Slice A 146A bylogical link 156. Logical link 156 is representative of the portions ofConnectivity Resource 140 and Connectivity Resource 144 that have beenallocated to Slice A (portions 140A and 144A respectively). It should beunderstood that due to the absence of Resource 3 142 from Slice A 150,any traffic transmitted by Slice A 136A onto Connectivity Resource 140Awill be delivered to Resource 4 146, and similarly any traffictransmitted from Slice 146A into Connectivity Resource 144A will bedelivered to Slice A 136A. As such, within Slice A 150, ConnectivityResources 140A and 144A can be modelled as a single logical link 156.Logical link 158 is representative of the portion of ConnectivityResource 148 allocated to slice A 148A.

It should be understood that within the storage and compute resourcesillustrated in FIGS. 18-A and 18-B, network functions can beinstantiated using any of a number of known techniques, includingnetwork function virtualization (NFV), to create Virtual NetworkFunctions (VNFs). While conventional telecommunications networks,including so-called Third Generation and Fourth Generation (3G/4G)networks, can be implemented using virtualized functions in their corenetworks, next generation networks, including so-called Fifth Generation(5G) networks, are expected to use NFV and other related technologies asfundamental building blocks in the design of a new Core Network (CN) andRadio Access Network (RAN). By using NFV, and technologies such asSoftware Defined Networking (SDN), functions in a CN can be instantiatedat a location in the network that is determined based on the needs ofthe network. It should be understood that if a network slice is created,the allocation of resources at different data centers allows for theinstantiation of a function at or near a particular geographic location,even within the slice where resources have been abstracted. This allowsvirtualized functions to be “close” in a physical sense to the locationat which they are used. This may be useful, and may be combined with asense of topological closeness to select a logical location at which toinstantiate a function so that it is geographically or topologicallyclose to a selected physical or network location.

FIG. 19 illustrates a system 160 in which a core/RAN network 162provides radio access and core network services to two UEs, UE1 164 andUE2 166, which can take the form of the ED 52 of FIG. 1. In this figure,network functions are instantiated upon the underlying computing andstorage resources of a data center. The functions are shown as beingexploded out of the pool of computing and storage resources upon whichthey are instantiated. This is done to indicate that the functions actas independent entities and from a logical perspective they areindistinguishable from a physical node carrying out the same function.It should also be understood that in a sliced network where data centersprovide the underlying computing and storage resources upon which thenetwork slices are created, it is possible for a single network to havenetwork slices that support different versions of networks, so forexample, in addition to having a virtualized network to support 5Gtraffic, a separate network slice can be created to support 4G networks.Traffic from UE1 164 and UE2 166 can be routed through networkfunctions, to a gateway 168 that provides access to a packet datanetwork 170 such as the Internet. Radio access services are typicallyprovided by a RAN, which in this illustration is provided as a Cloud-RAN(C-RAN). Where a conventional RAN architecture was designed to includediscrete elements, such as eNodeBs, that were connected to the CoreNetwork through a backhaul network, a C-RAN takes advantage of functionvirtualization to virtualize the Access Nodes of the network. Much as aphysical Access Node, such as an eNodeB, was connected to an antenna bya front haul link, in the illustrated embodiment of a C-RAN Access Node,such as a gNodeB, are connected to antenna (or to a remote radio head(RRH)) through a front haul connection, but are functions that areinstantiated upon compute resources in core/RAN network 162. If a gNodeBis divided into a Central Unit and a plurality of Distributed Units, thevirtualized Distributed Units may in some embodiments be instantiated ator near the location of the antenna or RRH, while a Centralized Unit maybe instantiated at a data center to connect and serve a plurality ofgeographically dispersed Distributed Units. For example, UE1 164 isconnected to the network through AN 172, which can provide radio accessservices through antenna 174. AN 172 is instantiated upon the computingand storage resources provided by a data center, in this case datacenter 198-1. Similarly, AN 176 and AN 180, which are connected to thesame set of antennae 178, are also instantiated upon the computing andstorage resources of data center 198-1. AN 180 provides radio accessservices to UE 2 166, which also makes use of the access servicesprovided by AN 182. AN 182 is connected to antenna 184, and isinstantiated upon the resources of data center 198-2. AN 186 isconnected to antenna 188, and is also instantiated upon the computingand storage resources of data center 198-2. It should be understood thatthe fronthaul connections linking the virtualized access nodes to theantennas or RRHs, may be direct connections, or they may form afronthaul network. The integration of a CRAN into a core network mayobviate or reduce the concerns associated with backhaul connections asthe AN functions may be co-located with CN functions. As such, DataCenter 198-1 also serves as a location at which a user-specific gatewayfunction (u-GW) 190 is instantiated. This function is also instantiatedin data center 198-2. Having a function instantiated at more than onedata center may be part of a function migration process in which thefunction is moved through the network, or one of the instantiations maybe an intentionally redundant instantiation. Both functions can beinstantiated and configured, with only one of them active at a time, orthey may both be active, but only one of them may be transmitting datato the UE. In other embodiments, such as those focused on Ultra-Reliableconnections, such as Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC),both functions may be active and transmitting data to (or receiving datafrom) an ED such as UE2 166. Network functions such as a Home SubscriberServer (HSS) 192, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 194or its predecessor Mobility Management Entity (MME), and a NetworkExposure Function (NEF) 196 are shown as being instantiated on theresources of Data Center 198-5, 198-4 and 198-3 respectively.

The virtualization of the network functions allows a function to belocated in the network at a location topologically close to the demandfor the service provided by the function. Thus, AN 172, which isassociated with antenna 174, can be instantiated upon computing andstorage resources at the data center closest to the antenna 174, in thiscase data center 198-1. Functions such as an NEF 196, which may not needto be close to ANs, may be instantiated further away (in either or bothof a topological or physical sense). Thus, NEF 196 is instantiated uponcomputing and storage resources at data center 198-3, and the HSS 192and AMF 194 are instantiated upon computing and storage resources atdata centers 198-5 and 198-4 respectively, which are topologicallycloser to the radio edge of the network 162. In some networkimplementations, data centers can be arranged hierarchically anddifferent functions can be placed at different levels in the hierarchy.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an architecture ofa representative server 200 usable in embodiments of the presentinvention. It is contemplated that the server 200 may be physicallyimplemented as one or more computers, storage devices and routers (anyor all of which may be constructed in accordance with the system 50described above with reference to FIG. 1) interconnected together toform a local network or cluster, and executing suitable software toperform its intended functions. Those of ordinary skill will recognizethat there are many suitable combinations of hardware and software thatmay be used for the purposes of the present invention, which are eitherknown in the art or may be developed in the future. For this reason, afigure showing the physical server hardware is not included in thisspecification. Rather, the block diagram of FIG. 20 shows arepresentative functional architecture of a server 200, it beingunderstood that this functional architecture may be implemented usingany suitable combination of hardware and software. It will also beunderstood that server 200 may itself be a virtualized entity. Because avirtualized entity has the same properties as a physical entity from theperspective of another node, both virtualized and physical computingplatforms may serve as the underlying resource upon which virtualizedfunctions are instantiated.

As may be seen in FIG. 20, the illustrated server 200 generallycomprises a hosting Instance 202 and an application platform 204. Thehosting Instance 202 comprises the physical hardware resources 206 (suchas, for example, information processing, traffic forwarding and datastorage resources) of the server 200, and a virtualization layer 208that presents an abstraction of the hardware resources 206 to theApplication Platform 204. The specific details of this abstraction willdepend on the requirements of the applications being hosted by theApplication layer (described below). Thus, for example, an applicationthat provides traffic forwarding functions may be presented with anabstraction of the hardware resources 206 that simplifies theimplementation of traffic forwarding policies in one or more routers.Similarly, an application that provides data storage functions may bepresented with an abstraction of the hardware resources 206 thatfacilitates the storage and retrieval of data (for example usingLightweight Directory Access Protocol—LDAP).

The application platform 204 provides the capabilities for hostingapplications and includes a virtualization manager 210 and applicationplatform services 212. The virtualization manager 210 supports aflexible and efficient multi-tenancy run-time and hosting environmentfor applications 214 by providing Instance as a Service (IaaS)facilities. In operation, the virtualization manager 210 may provide asecurity and resource “sandbox” for each application being hosted by theplatform 204. Each “sandbox” may be implemented as a Virtual Machine(VM) image 216 that may include an appropriate operating system andcontrolled access to (virtualized) hardware resources 206 of the server200. The application-platform services 212 provide a set of middlewareapplication services and Instance services to the applications 214hosted on the application platform 204, as will be described in greaterdetail below.

Applications 214 from vendors, service providers, and third-parties maybe deployed and executed within a respective Virtual Machine 216. Forexample, MANagement and Orchestration (MANO) functions and ServiceOriented Network Auto-Creation (SONAC) functions (or any of SoftwareDefined Networking (SDN), Software Defined Topology (SDT), SoftwareDefined Protocol (SDP) and Software Defined Resource Allocation (SDRA)controllers that may in some embodiments be incorporated into a SONACcontroller) may be implemented by means of one or more applications 214hosted on the application platform 204 as described above. Communicationbetween applications 214 and services in the server 200 may convenientlybe designed according to the principles of Service-Oriented Architecture(SOA) known in the art.

Communication services 218 may allow applications 214 hosted on a singleserver 200 to communicate with the application-platform services 212(through pre-defined Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) forexample) and with each other (for example through a service-specificAPI).

A service registry 220 may provide visibility of the services availableon the server 200. In addition, the service registry 220 may presentservice availability (e.g. status of the service) together with therelated interfaces and versions. This may be used by applications 214 todiscover and locate the end-points for the services they require, and topublish their own service end-point for other applications to use.

Mobile-edge Computing allows cloud application services to be hostedalongside virtualized mobile network elements in data centers that areused for supporting the processing requirements of the C-RAN. NetworkInformation Services (NIS) 222 may provide applications 214 withlow-level network information. For example, the information provided byMS 222 may be used by an application 214 to calculate and presenthigh-level and meaningful data such as: cell-ID, location of thesubscriber, cell load and throughput guidance.

A Traffic Off-Load Function (TOF) service 224 may prioritize traffic,and route selected, policy-based, user-data streams to and fromapplications 214. The TOF service 224 may be supplied to applications224 in various ways, including: A Pass-through mode where (either orboth of uplink and downlink) traffic is passed to an application 214which can monitor, modify or shape it and then send it back to theoriginal Packet Data Network (PDN) connection (e.g. 3GPP bearer); and anEnd-point mode where the traffic is terminated by the application 214which acts as a server.

The virtualization of network functions is considered to be afoundational technology for the architecture of flexible 5G networks.Function virtualization is a technology that allows for the creation ofvirtual functions on a base of computing resources (which may includeboth compute resources and storage resources such as executable memoryand general storage) and connectivity or network resources. In manycases, computing, and connectivity resources will exist within a datacenter. It should be understood that this discussion refers to resourcesinstead of actual hardware because it is possible for virtualizedresources to serve as the underlying resources for a next level ofvirtualization.

Virtualization may take the form of instantiating a virtual machine (VM)that, to another entity on a network and to software executed on the VM,is no different than a physical node in the network. A VM has its ownset of compute, memory and network resources, upon which an operatingsystem can be executed. The VM can have a virtual network interface thatcan be assigned a network address. Between the underlying resources andthe VM, there is typically a hypervisor that manages the resourceisolation and network interactions. One of the purposes of a VM is toprovide isolation from other processes run on the system. When initiallydeveloped, a VM was a mechanism to allow different network processers tooperate without concern that a single errant process would be able tocause a complete system crash. Instead, an errant process would becontained to its own VM. This isolation allows for each VM to have itsown set of network interfaces. Typically, a single underlying resourcecan support a plurality of virtualized entities.

A more recent development has been the use of containers in place ofVMs. Each VM typically includes its own operating system which typicallyincreases redundant resource usage. Containers allow a single OS kernelto support a number of isolated virtual functions. In place of ahypervisor that allows each VM to run its own OS, a single OS hostscontainers that are responsible for enforcing the resource isolationthat would otherwise be provided by the VM. Each virtualized functionwithin its own container can be provided a virtualized network interfaceso that it appears as its own network entity.

With virtualization used in a networked environment, a question arisesas to how the management of the instantiation, modification, andtear-down of virtualized functions is managed or orchestrated. Toaddress this concern, the European Telecommunications StandardsInstitute (ETSI) has developed a set of standards for Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV) MANagement and Orchestration (MANO). As illustratedin FIG. 21, the NFV-MANO system allows for the management of NFVinstantiation and modification. As illustrated, there can be interfacesto existing systems such as the OSS/BSS. In network architecture 230, anNFV-MANO system 232 includes an orchestrator 234 which can accesslibraries 236 such as Network Service catalog 238, VNF Catalog 240, VNFInstances repository 242 and NFVI resources repository 244. The NSCatalog 238 may include templates which can be used as the basis forsupporting network services. VNF catalog 240 may contain templates forthe instantiation of different classes of VNFs. A particular VNF, afterbeing instantiated, may be referred to as a VNF instance, and itsattributes may be stored in VNF instances repository 242. NFVI resources244 may be used to track the availability of resources, including bothvirtual resources and the physical Instance upon which they areinstantiated. The NFVO 234 can be connected to a number of VNF Managers246 through an OR-VNFM interface, and to a Virtualized Instance Manager(VIM) 248 through a OR-VI interface. The VNFM 246 and VIM 248 can beconnected to each other through a VI-VNFM interface.

The NFV MANO 232 can communicate with an OSS/BSS system 250 throughOS-MA interface, and to a Service, VNF & Instance description database252 though an SE-MA interface. The Service, VNF & Instance descriptiondatabase 252 can contain operator information about the services, VNFsand Instance deployed in the network. Service, VNF & Instancedescription database 252 and OSS/BSS 250 can be connected to each otherso that the OSS/BSS 250 can update and maintain the Service, VNF &Instance description database 252 as needed.

NFVI 270 interacts with the VIM 248 through the NF-VI interface.Underlying resources can often be classified as compute resources 274,memory resources 278 and network resources 282. Memory resources 278 mayalso be referred to as storage resources, while network resources 282may also be referred to as connectivity resources. A virtualizationlayer 272 allows for the abstraction of the underlying resources whichit is connected to through a VI-HA interface. It should be understoodthat the underlying resources may be either physical or virtualresources. The Virtualization layer 272 allows for the abstraction ofthe underlying resources into virtual compute resources 276, virtualmemory resources 280 and virtual network resources 284. Thesevirtualized resources can be provided to the element management system254 through the VN-NF interface so that they can be used as theresources upon which the VNFs (shown as VNF1 258, VNF2 262 and VNF 3266) can be instantiated. EM 254 can be connected to the VNFM 246 withinNFV MANO 232 through interface VE-VNFM, and to the OSS/BSS 250 throughanother interface. Each VNF instantiated upon the virtual resourcesprovided by NFVI 270 can be associated with an element manager (EM1 256,EM2 260 and EM3 264). The use of an element manager allows the OSS/BSSto have two paths through which the VNFs can be managed. A VNF can bemanaged through the VNFM 246, or through the element manager associatedwith the VNF. Each element manager can provide the same managementcontrols that it would otherwise provide for a physical network element.Thus, the OSS/BSS 250 can treat each VNF as a conventional networkfunction. Modification to the resource allocation associated with a VNFcan be requested by an element manager through the VNFM 246, or througha request from the OSS/BSS 250 over the OS-MA interface.

The virtualization of network functions allows functions to be deployedwith the resources that are required and not with an intentional overprovisioning. In conjunction with the above described slicing and datacenter utilization, flexible networks can be deployed in a manner thatallows an operator to dynamically modify the connectivity betweenfunctions (thus changing the logical topology of the network) and todynamically modify the resources and location of the network functions(thus changing the physical topology of the underlying network).Additional resources can be allocated to existing function to allow forscaling up of an existing function, and resources can be removed from anallocation to allow for a scaling down of a function. Resources frommore than one resource pool or data center can be allocated to afunction so that it can be scaled out, and resources from differentpools can be removed to allow a function to be scaled in. Functions canbe moved by transferring their state information to another networkfunction, and in some instances, a function can be moved through acombination of scaling out and scaling in functions.

FIG. 22 illustrates a network architecture 300 in which the resources ofthe operator network 302 are divided into a set of logical planes, aUser Plane (UP) 304, a Control Plane (CP) 306 and a Management Plane(MP) 308. The UP 304 is typically focused on packet transport, butcertain functions including packet filtering and traffic shaping can beperformed in the UP 304, although this is typically performed based oninstructions from a network function in the CP 306. Functions in the MP308 receive input from network functions within the customer domain 310about the policies that should be enforced by the network controlfunctions in the control plane 306. If Operator Network 302 supportsnetwork slicing, functions within MP 308 may be responsible for slicedesign and creation. It should be understood that a single MP 308 may beused to provide management functionality for a plurality of networkslices that each have different control and user planes. Functionswithin the MP 308 can communicate with each other to ensure that thediffering policies for a possible plurality of customers are fittedtogether in a suitable set of instructions.

UP 302 may also be referred to as a data plane. It carries the trafficbetween an ED 52 and either external data networks (not shown) orfunctions within the operator network. UP 302 is typically includes UserPlane Functions (UPFs) 314. In some instances, a UPF 314 may be specificto a particular UE, it may be specific to a particular service (in someembodiments, it may be both user and service specific), and in otherinstances it may be a generic function serving a plurality of users andservices. UPFs 314 are connected to each other to allow for data planetraffic to be transmitted.

The Control Plane 306 may include control plane functions (CPFs). In a3GPP compliant network, some control plane functions (CPF) 316A havefunctions defined by standards, while other control plane functions(CPF) 316B may be outside the specification of the relevant standards.This may effectively result in the Control Plane 306 being divided intoa standards compliant control plane segment 306A and a non-standardscompliant control plane segment 306B. In a 3GPP compliant control planesegment 306A, network CPFs 316A such as an AMF, SMF, NEF, AUSF, etc. maybe present, and in some embodiments more than one instance of any or allof the functions may be present. In a non-standards compliant controlplane segment 308B, CPFs 316B such as an SDN Controller, or other suchcontrollers including a SONAC-Ops controller, may be instantiated. CPFs,may be connected to other CPFs, as shown by CPF 316A, but this is notnecessarily required as may be seen by CPF 316B. ED 52 may alsocommunicate with CPFs.

The Management Plane 308 can be divided between a standards compliantsection 308A and a non-standards compliant section 308B, much as CP 306is divided. Within MP 308, network functions and nodes 318A and 318B cancommunicate with each other, and with a network function or node 312within the customer domain 310. Management Plane entities 318A (withinthe standardized section 308A) and 318B (within the non-standardscompliant section 308B) can be used to establish policy, and themechanisms by which policy is to be enforced, based on the resourcesavailable and requirements received from the customer 312 (and possiblya plurality of different customers). Network Management Functions (NMF)may be responsible for accounting and billing functions, for elementmanagement, they may provide the services required for an OperationSupport System (OSS) and a Business Support Subsystem (BSS). Outside thestandardized functions, non-standardized network functions 318B mayinclude an NFV-MANO system and a SONAC-Com controller.

NMFs 318A and 318B can receive external input from a customer node 312,and can communicate with each other. NMFs 318A and 318B can alsocommunicate, over any of the MP-CP connections 320, with CPFs 316A and316B to provide instructions about the policies to be enforced by CPFs316A and 316B. Changes in the resources underlying the network 302 arealso communicated by a NMF to CPFs. In CP 306, CPFs communicate witheach other, and with ED 52. CPF 316 are also in communication with UPFs314, and through this communication they can receive information such astraffic loads on links and processing loads at network functions. Inconjunctions with policy information received from NMFs 318A and 318B, aCPF 316A and 316B can transmit instructions to the UPFs 314, over theCP-UP (also referred to as UP-CP) connections 322, to govern thebehavior of the UPFs 314. A UPF 314 receives configuration informationfrom a CPF 318A and 318B, and handles UP traffic in accordance with thereceived configuration information. Loading information (which mayinclude both processing and network connection (or link) loading) may begathered by a UPF 314 and provided to a CPF.

In some embodiments, the customer network function 312 may have aconnection to a CFP. This CPF, with which customer network function 312communicates, may be either a 3GPP compliant CPF 316A or a non-3GPPcompliant CPF 316B. In alternate embodiments, the customer networkfunction 312 may make use of a function within management plane 308 torelay messages to functions in control plane 306. Within the customerdomain 310, there may be an optional control plane 324, with customercontrol plane functions 326 and 328. When such a customer control plane324 is present, function 326 and 328 may have logical communicationslinks with either or both of ED 52 and the customer network function312. Customer control plane functions 326 and 328 may have connectionsto functions within control plane 306 (either 3GPP compliant functions316A or non-3GPP compliant functions 316B).

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific features and embodiments thereof, it is evident that variousmodifications and combinations can be made thereto without departingfrom the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, tobe regarded simply as an illustration of the invention as defined by theappended claims, and are contemplated to cover any and allmodifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that fall withinthe scope of the present invention.

We claim:
 1. A method of network slice management performed by aCommunication Service Management Function (CSMF), the method comprising:receiving service requirements; receiving capability exposureinformation; and transmitting, to a Network Slice Management Function(NSMF), network slice requirements which satisfy the servicerequirements in accordance with the received capability exposureinformation, wherein the capability exposure information includes:management capability exposure information received from the NSMF; andresource capacity exposure information received from the NSMF.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the management capability exposure informationcomprises any one of the following: request based information; networkslice type information; network slice template (NST) information; andNST plus resource capacity exposure information.
 3. The method of claim2 wherein NST information comprises any combination of the following:network function (NF) chains; network sub-slice (NSS) dependency;location of NFs; and data exposure.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein theresource capacity exposure information comprises one or more of thefollowing: computing resources information; storage resourcesinformation; network bandwidth information; radio access network (RAN)resources information; interface information; and resources bearingtraffic information.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the servicerequirements are received from a Communication Service NegotiationFunction.
 6. The method of 1 wherein the network slice requirementscomprises information indicative of any one of the following:parameters; network slice type plus parameters; network slice templateplus parameters; network slice template plus parameters plus capacity.7. The method of claim 1 wherein resource capacity exposure informationis received from functions managed by Third Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) functions and functions not managed by 3GPP.
 8. A methodof network slice management performed by a Network Slice ManagementFunction (NSMF), the method comprising: receiving network slicerequirements; receiving sub-slice capability exposure information, thesub-slice capability exposure information including sub-slice managementcapability exposure information and sub-slice resource capacity exposureinformation received from functions managed by Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) and functions not managed by 3GPP; andtransmitting network sub-slice requirements which satisfy the networkslice requirements in accordance with the received sub-slice capabilityexposure information.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the sub-slicecapability exposure information is received from a Network Sub-SliceManagement Function (NSSMF).
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein: thesub-slice capability exposure information is received from a networkelement manager.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein: the sub-slicecapability exposure information is received from a plurality of networkelement manager.
 12. The method of claim 8 wherein: the sub-slicecapability exposure information is received from a management andnetwork orchestrator (MANO).
 13. The method of claim 8 wherein thenetwork sub-slice instance requirements are transmitted to the NSSMF.14. The method of claim 8 wherein the sub-slice management capabilityexposure information comprises one of the following: request basedinformation; network sub-slice type information; network sub-slicetemplate (NSST) information; NSST and sub-slice resource capacityexposure information.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein NSSTinformation comprises any combination of the following: network function(NF) chains; network sub-slice (NSS) dependency location of NFs; anddata exposure.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the sub-slice resourcecapacity exposure information comprises one or more the following:computing resources information; storage resources information; networkbandwidth information; radio access network (RAN) resources information;interface information; and resources bearing traffic information. 17.The method of claim 8 wherein the network slice requirements arereceived from a Communication Service Management Function (CSMF). 18.The method of claim 17 further comprising transmitting aggregated slicecapability exposure information to the CSMF.
 19. The method of claim 18wherein the aggregated slice capability exposure information comprisesone of the following: request based information; network slice typeinformation; network slice template (NST) information; and NST and sliceresource capacity exposure information.
 20. The method of claim 19wherein NST information comprises any combination of the following:network function (NF) chains; network sub-slice (NSS) dependency;location of NFs; and data exposure.
 21. The method of claim 19 whereinthe slice resource capacity exposure information comprises one or moreof the following: computing resources information; storage resourcesinformation; network bandwidth information; RAN resources information;interface information; and resources bearing traffic information.
 22. Amethod of network slice management performed by a Network Sub-SliceManagement Function (NSSMF), the method comprising: receiving, from aNetwork Slice Management Function (NSMF), network sub-slicerequirements; receiving sub-slice capability exposure information, thesub-slice capability exposure information including sub-slice managementcapability exposure information and sub-slice resource capacity exposureinformation; responsive to receiving the sub-slice capability exposureinformation, aggregating the sub-slice capability exposure informationto form aggregated sub-slice capability exposure information;transmitting, to the NSMF, the aggregated sub-slice capability exposureinformation.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein: the sub-slicecapability exposure information is received from a network elementmanager.
 24. The method of claim 22 wherein: the sub-slice capabilityexposure information is received from a plurality of network elementmanagers.
 25. The method of claim 22 wherein: the sub-slice capabilityexposure information is received from a MANO.
 26. The method of claim 22wherein the aggregated sub-slice capability exposure informationcomprises information selected from one of the following: request basedinformation; network sub-slice type information; network sub-slicetemplate (NSST) information; NSST and the sub-slice resource capacityexposure information.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein NSSTinformation comprises any combination of the following: network function(NF) chains; network sub-slice (NSS) dependency; location of NFs; anddata exposure.
 28. The method of claim 26 wherein the sub-slice resourcecapacity exposure information comprises one or more the following:computing resources information; storage resources information; networkbandwidth information; radio access network (RAN) resources information;interface information; and resources bearing traffic.
 29. The method ofclaim 22 wherein sub-slice resource capacity exposure information isreceived from functions managed by Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) and functions not managed by 3GPP.